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This is an archive article published on April 20, 2016

Pradhan Manthri Fasal Beema Yojana: Haryana wants own company to handle insurance scheme

While the Haryana government has notified the scheme for the state, it is working on the modalities.

Pradhan Manthri Fasal Beema Yojana, PMFBY, Haryana government, crop insurance, crop insurance scheme, Haryana Agriculture Minister, O P Dhanka, indian express Haryana agriculture minister O P Dhankar

The Haryana government has sought approval from the Centre to set up its own corporation for implementation of the new crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojna (PMFBY). Instead of depending on insurance companies, the state government wanted its own set up to provide compensation to farmers under the scheme.

The Union Cabinet had approved the new crop insurance scheme in January this year and it will come into affect from the coming kharif season. Under the scheme, the premium to be paid by farmers has been brought down considerably to only 2 per cent for khariff and 1.5 per cent for rabi crops.

While the Haryana government has notified the scheme for the state, it is working on the modalities.

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Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar said that they have sought permission from the centre to set up their own corporation for implementation of the scheme. “The Centre is giving Rs 300 crore for the scheme. Haryana has made provision of Rs 300 crore in the budget for the same. Instead of depositing all this money with insurance companies, we could set up our own company. This will also ensure that the farmers do not face problems in getting compensation in case of crop damage,” he said.

Dhankar added that talks would also be held with insurance companies for the implementation of the scheme. The modalities will be worked out once a discussion is held. He said that the aim is to encourage farmers to take insurance which they are reluctant to.

As per the 2011 Census, of around 16.7 lakh farming families in Haryana, around 2.14 lakh families were covered by Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme up to kharif 2013. This was the last crop for which the government notified the insurance scheme. The farmers complain about having to pay the premium even when they were not being adequately compensated when the crop failed.

Farmers have faced successive crop failures in the state. The Haryana government paid Rs 1,092 crore compensation for damage to wheat and mustard crop last year. An amount of Rs 967 crore was announced for damage to cotton crop due to whitefly pest.

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The compensation was restricted to an area of five acres. A special girdawari is also being done in some villages to asses damage to wheat crop this year following hailstorm and rains. The government has emphasised that the farmers should switch over to insuring their crops rather than seeking compensation for damage.

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